


That Would Be Enough

by RavenpuffWrites



Series: And When Our Children Tell Our Stories [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex and Laf are so precious I love them, Anyways, Disabled Lafayette, George Washington is a vry concerned father, I'm Bad At Tagging, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Relationships, Trans Aaron Burr, past references to homelessness, references to past injury/assault and all those bad things, uhh tags what tags do I need, wow these children have been through a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 21:24:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13912482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenpuffWrites/pseuds/RavenpuffWrites
Summary: They may be reunited, but Alexander and Lafayette still have a long way in learning how to heal, how to trust again.All George Washington is for his two new foster sons to be happy. If they could just find a bit of peace with what they had been through, if he could just find a way to show them that they were truly safe and nothing could change that. If they could just look around the Washington household and feel like they were finally home, like they finally had a family that was more than just the two of them, then that would be enough.Or George is a worry-wart father who just wants his grant his foster sons peace of mind, and Alexander and Lafayette are two boys who have faced too much trauma in their short lives and are struggling to deal with it.





	That Would Be Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Ayy we're back baby. 
> 
> Hello to all my returning readers, I hope you'll enjoy the next step in Alexander and Lafayette's adventure. As for those of you who are just joining us, hello, this is currently the third work in my series chronicling the lives of Alexander Hamilton and Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette and their friends, I suggest you read the other two, Look At Where We Started and Hamilton Moves Uptown, before continuing otherwise you're going to be a little confused. 
> 
> Other than that, enjoy.

It was strange to think that six months ago Alex didn’t know Lafayette. That there was a time not that long ago when they still hadn’t heard each other’s names, didn’t even know the other existed let alone that they would soon be such a big part of each other’s lives. It was strange to think there ever was a time they hadn’t existed in tandem with one another, for now they were never apart. There was never an instance now where you would see Alexander without Lafayette very close behind him. 

They weren’t the same people they had once been when they met all that time ago. 

Alex, once afraid of ever getting close to someone again, had learned once more how to open his heart to love, had learned how to slow down and enjoy the moment around him because you never knew when it was going to end. He had gained an appreciation for the quiet he never knew could exist, and a love for the feeling that came with sitting in it with someone who meant the world to you. 

Lafayette in many ways was braver than he had ever been before. He had found depths to his courage he didn’t know existed, a strength that could only be built by fighting for your life, refusing to let go even after you’ve lost seemingly everything. But there was something else that had changed within him. No longer was Lafayette the bleeding-heart Alexander had once met, who wished to befriend the entire world and only wanted to ever see the best in everyone around him. He no longer tried to strike up a conversation with those around him, didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve like he had all his life. There was a quiet now to Lafayette there hadn’t been before, a type a quiet that there never should be for someone like him. 

It’s the quiet that comes in moments when you’re in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down. The quiet that comes from moving uptown, away from their home, the life they had come to love, to a strange place they didn’t know. The quiet that comes only after you’ve suffered the unimaginable.

* * *

It was hard for George not to worry about them. A month after the pair had been reunited, there still had hardly been a change in the way they acted. The only difference he and Martha had seen was in the fact that Alex smiled much more than he had when they first brought him home. He seemed happier, at least, both of them did. They seemed happier now that they were together instead of forced apart on opposite of an ocean, Benjamin Franklin hadn’t been kidding when he said that the two truly needed each other to survive. Happier, but they still didn’t seem to be truly and completely happy. Something was missing. And George wasn’t sure what it was. 

Martha said that he just needed to give them more time. That really, they were adjusting quite well all things considered, after all you couldn’t just expect them to start acting like regular teenage boys overnight when they were still learning how to put the pieces of their lives back together. Martha reminded George that they ought to celebrate the little victories; the fact that the boys were no longer skin and bone, dark circles had faded from beneath their eyes, and it no longer took their coaxing for them to come in after the sun had fallen. They were doing well in summer school and were on track to start there next year alongside other students their age, and Lafayette’s English had been progressing faster than they had expected, even if he only ever spoke French when he was alone with Alexander. They were healthy, they were together, and most of all, Martha reminded him, they were still here. They hadn’t run away yet, and maybe that could be considered the greatest victory of all.

It didn’t stop George from worrying though. Didn’t stop him from wanting to do something, anything, to make things even just a little better for the pair. All he wanted, after all, was to wipe away the scars of their past and show them that they were safe here. Give them a place where they could feel at home, someone they could trust that they could talk to if they needed to. 

They still had no idea where Alex had come from, didn’t know his last name or the circumstances that had brought him to America in the first place. Any attempt to bring it up only ever caused Alex to shut down, and Lafayette to quickly jump to his defense saying that it was nothing the Washington’s need concern themselves with. It was still a mystery how the two met, the home they had built beneath their little bridge unknown to the outside world. They wouldn’t talk about the things that had happened to them, any mention of their past was only met with silence and George realized before long that he wasn’t ever going to get anywhere if the boys didn’t trust him. 

Eventually, Martha suggests taking the boys away for the summer to his family home in Virginia. “Maybe,” she reasoned “it will be easier for them to heal if they’re not always surrounded with reminders of their past.”

It was a reasoning that made sense. After all it was obvious that both boys felt much more comfortable outside of the Washington household than it. Maybe a few months in the fresh air of Virginia, surrounded on every side by open land and no other houses within sight, maybe being that far away would do good for for Alexander and Lafayette. 

They make the plan one afternoon in late June to return to Mt. Vernon for the summer in hopes of seeing some kind of improvement in Alexander and Lafayette. 

Martha and Aaron would join them for the month of July, a nice vacation for them as well to get away from the bustle of the city. As a Senator it was impossible for George to just take off whenever he wanted but come break in August he would join them at Mt. Vernon full time, and Aaron and Martha would return home sometime afterwards. Not only would this give George a chance to finally get Alexander and Lafayette to open up (as he seemed to be the only person the boys evenly remotely trusted outside of Dr. Franklin), but Martha also knew it wasn’t right to keep Aaron separated from his friends for two months in the middle of nowhere. As much as he may appreciate an initial break, Martha had grown to know her son well enough to know after a few weeks he would grow to miss Thomas and James.

Before they could ever really make a plan to follow through with this new idea, a wrench was thrown into their plans. 

Late one June night after everyone had gone to bed, unable to sleep and restless to get out of the confines of these new boundaries that had been placed on them, Alexander and Lafayette slipped out their window with nothing but a single bookbag and disappeared into the darkness of the night. 

They weren’t running away. As unhappy as they may have been with the Washington’s, they both knew that realistically there wasn’t a way for them to survive on their own anymore, at least not at this point. Not here in New York City where people recognized their names and faces, not now when news of Lafayette and his father were still so fresh in the news. Running away now would be a stupid idea and they both knew it. 

Besides, it would take a lot more planning to disappear into the night for good than an impulse decision at 1am to sneak out their window the way Laf had done for years with Adrienne and visit the bridge they held so dear. 

Right now, all they wanted was to return home, even if just for a few hours. Sit atop their bridge where Alex could write like he hadn’t and months and Lafayette could read curled into his side, as if nothing had changed and for just a moment they were back to where they once were. 

They just wanted a chance for things to be like they used to be. Pretend for a moment that nothing had changed, that they hadn’t changed in ways they couldn’t even imagine. Changed in ways they didn’t even really want to think about. 

Maybe it was stupid for them not to leave a letter explaining where they were going, but they were going to be back before sunrise anyways. No one would even know they were gone. 

They were just going to visit their little bride for a few hours. Just long enough to hopefully quell the homesickness that had building within them ever since they had returned together to New York.

* * *

New York City was never quiet. Even on their little bridge in the middle of nowhere the noise of the city reached them. It was one of the appeals of living there, the never-ending sound that accompanied the city that never slept. For someone that had never been a fan before of the quiet before, there was something endlessly comforting in the noise. 

There was something comforting, too, in returning back to the place they had for so long called home. Almost two months had passed again, it wasn’t the first time they had returned back after so long, but it was different this time. They weren’t just coming home after a long time away, they were returning for the first time back to all the things they had once left behind them. They hadn’t got a chance, after being torn apart, hadn’t gotten the chance to return and collect what they had left behind, and now after all these months it was still sitting there waiting. 

Their rules were still stuck to the wall, books and Alex’s writings piled beneath it for safekeeping. The few clothes they had managed to keep were still there, now looking so worn compared to the fancy new ones the Washington’s had insisted on providing the day Alex had moved into their house. The folder that held Alex’s letter to the President was still there, the original writings from Nevis that had saved him the island still tucked beside it, as if it was just yesterday he had put them there. 

Most importantly, tucked away in Lafayette’s back to keep it at least as clean as they had been able to, hidden there was Lafayette’s blanket. Its vibrant colors had long since been faded by dirt, it smelled as awful as anything that hadn’t been washed in months, parts of it had matted together from rain and filth alike. It was no longer a pretty sight, but still Lafayette cried as he unfolded it because after all this time it was still there. Long he had given up hope of ever seeing it again, but here it was in his eyes and he couldn’t stop the tears from falling as he hugged it to his chest.

 _“I thought we had lost it,”_ Lafayette whispered softly after a moment, looking up so that his eyes met Alexander’s where he stood only inches away, watching with a soft smile on his face. _“I thought, after all we had lost, I thought there was no way it would still be here but it is and I...”_  

Alexander pulled Lafayette into a hug as the younger boy trailed off, to overwhelmed to continue, and for a moment Alex held him silently, rubbing small circles on his back as a silent word of comfort, letting tears fall until he was sure Lafayette had calmed down and only then did he pull back slightly. Place a soft kiss his forehead, wipe away the tears left still rolling down Laf’s cheeks, and after a long moment of quiet, Alex finally joked _“After all the bad luck we faced we were bound to have some good luck eventually, right? Just so happened that that good luck came in the form of your blanket.”_  

 _“And your writings, mon cher.”_ Lafayette replied, gesturing to the stack of books and papers behind Alex, and then more broadly around them as he continued. _“And in everything that is here still. Look around, even after all that happened, so little has changed here. Everything is just where we left it, it all looks the same, as if it was only just yesterday we had been here.”_  

 _“It is all just the same.”_ Alexander agreed softly after a moment, although there was something sadder in his tone than had been in Lafayette’s, as if the entire thing was only bittersweet and perhaps it was in a lot of ways. After all, even if the place hadn’t changed, they had in so many ways. 

 _“Alexander?”_ Lafayette called after a moment, reaching up to place a hand on Alex’s cheek worriedly, running his thumb across it in circles as he searched Alex’s eyes trying to figure out what exactly had changed between them in only a moment. _“Mon petit lion, are you okay?”_  

 _“Yeah.”_ Alex whispered, and for a moment Lafayette was sure he was lying because his voice shook as he spoke, but then Alexander took a deep breath, and smiled softly as he repeated surer this time _“I’m fine mon ami, I promise. I just never thought we would be back here and now that we are...”_  

 _“It is a lot to take in?”_ Lafayette finished, smiling when Alex nodded against his hand, letting out a small hum of agreement because that was exactly what he meant. _“I understand Alexander. I feel much the same way.”_

 _“Knowing that we can’t stay here, that this is only but a fleeting moment in time and soon we’ll have to return to the Washington’s again, it hurts just to think about.”_ Alex explained, closing his eyes to stop the tears he could feel coming from falling, he didn’t want to cry, not about something as simple as this. _“I am forever grateful of them for giving us a place we could be together and for they have done in trying to help us heal, but it just doesn’t feel like home there.”_  

 _“I know Alexander,”_ Lafayette soothed, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on Alex’s forehead before he pulled away altogether, holding on the other boy only by his hand which he gave a gentle tug so he would start to walk. _“Let’s not worry about that now though. For now, let us bask in the joy that comes from being back here okay?”_  

 _“Okay.”_ Alexander agreed, following Lafayette up the small hillside so they could reach the topside of their bridge, walking across it until they reached the same spot they always sat. Alex sat with his feet dangling off the edge and Laf laid head in his lap, blanket laid over him even if it was cold out, because tradition said he should have it there anyways. 

They sat for a long time in silence just staring out over the city, Alex playing with Lafayette’s hair like it was second nature, not speaking but instead just enjoying the sounds of the city that reached them from where they sat. 

And then, after who knows how long of just sitting there, softly Alexander began to sing. 

“Us against the world. Against the world. You and I, we’ve been at it so long but still got the strongest fire...” 

* * *

At some point, Alexander and Lafayette both wound up falling asleep. 

They hadn’t meant to. Knew if they did they would never wake up in time to return to the Washington’s before being caught away which was the last thing they wanted; they hadn’t planned on falling asleep but when you got as little sleep as the pair of them tended to, sometimes it was hard to control. 

It started, really, with a slip of memory. Started with Lafayette drifting off in Alex’s lap as the older boy played with his hair, never fully asleep but enough so that it was easy for him to forget the circumstances that had brought them back here in the first place, that they weren’t staying but rather on a temporary visit. 

He was tired. And so was Alexander if the bags under his eyes were any indication, the yawns that kept escaping him every few minutes no matter how much he tried to suppress them. Alex was falling asleep sitting up, Lafayette could see it, and so in his half-asleep state Laf made a decision. 

 _“You need to sleep mon ami.”_ Lafayette said sleepily, standing up slowly clutching his blanket as Alex watched, stumbling for a moment as he tried to catch is balance before he reached down and grabbed Alexander’s hand, pulling him up beside him. _“Come, it is time we both go to bed. You can hardly keep your eyes open anyways.”_

 _“Laf-”_ Alex opened his mouth, ready to protest because there was something at the back of his mind saying that it wasn’t a good idea for them to fall asleep now, not here. The words died in his throat though as his eyes met Lafayette and he saw the soft yet stern look on the younger boy’s face saying there was no argument to be made. So, he just nodded, and softly agreed _“You’re right, Lafayette. Maybe it is time for bed.”_

 _“I’m always right Alexander, have you forgotten?”_ Lafayette teased, letting out a small giggle as he kissed Alex’s cheek quickly, before he led the way off the bridge and down to their little home beneath.

 _“Of course you are mon cher.”_ Alex teased, shaking his head fondly at Lafayette as they walked, speaking in voice that would let anyone from the outside see just how much he cared for the younger boy. Lafayette only laughed at Alexander's teasing tone, giving him a playful shove before he pulled him down to the ground, and they got themselves comfortable in their old spot, laying the same way they always had.

It had been so long since either of them had felt like this. For a moment curled under that bridge Alex felt a bit peace settle over him, and he smiled softly as Lafayette’s arms tightened around him because for just a moment he finally felt like he was truly home again.

 _“I love you my dear Alexander.”_ Lafayette whispered into the night, already on the verge of falling asleep, but he managed to stay awake just long enough to hear the soft reply

 _“I love you more my Lafayette.”_ And for the first time in weeks, Lafayette fell asleep with a smile on his face, feeling complete safe and at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> YOOO GUESS WHOSE BACK AT IT AGAIN
> 
> Yes, I have indeed returned from the war and am back to continue the story following the lives of out lovely boys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's the first look we've really gotten at how Alexander and Lafayette are recovering and we're going to continue to explore that as this story continues. 
> 
> I know it's been literally forever since I've updated, I fell out of touch with Hamilton for a bit so I'm sorry if this is a little rough, I'm working on getting back into it. I'm going to try not to just disappear forever though, and I'm going to do my best to stick to a schedule even with college kicking my ass. 
> 
> So here's the plan moving forward. For now, this story is going to be on a bi-weekly update schedule trading out every other week with my other Hamilton story Oh There You Are. I am going to try and get a few chapters stocked piled over Spring Break though, and so if I get to a place where I feel comfortable doing so, I will switch instead to weekly updates. As it is I haven't decided on a day of the week (and no this week doesn't count as I'm just getting back), but I'm thinking it will be either Wednesday as it used to be on Saturday. It really depends on how things go, hopefully I'll get that settled out soon. 
> 
> So yeah, biweekly updates starting after next week (meaning there will be another chapter sometime soon), after that it'll be every other week unless I get enough of a stock pile I feel safe doing other wise. 
> 
> I hope you're as excited to continue on this journey with Alex and Lafayette as I am, and until next time
> 
> Oh! I'm also putting together an AWOCTOS timeline for this series, so if you're interested in seeing that let me know and I'll put it up somewhere I can share it with you guys. 
> 
> (Just let's not talk about my time inconsistencies okay I know my timeline is all over the place I'm working on it. But it's entirely possible you'll find moments where I've some how created three weeks in story in one actual calander week. Just don't question it)


End file.
